Florida Mandatory Reporting Laws

The scandal at Penn State, which revealed that people required to report child molestation only had to report it to their superiors and not the police, has many people asking: What is a mandatory reporter? What do mandatory reporters have to do? A Florida rape attorney can explain.
Of course, it is everyone’s duty to report abuse if they witness it. However, by Florida law, as well as by the law in several other states, certain people by virtue of their occupation have to report either child abuse or adult abuse or both. These are called professionally mandatory reporters. Professionally mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse in Florida and other kinds of abuse include the following:
● Day care workers;
● Foster care workers;
● Judges;
● Law enforcement officers;
● School teachers; andrn● School officials.

Professionally mandatory reporters of abuse against adults, which includes adult sexual abuse in Florida (such as by a caretaker or spouse), include other kinds of people:
● Assisted living facility staff;
● Adult day care center staff;
● Adult family care home staff;
● Bank, credit union or savings and loan employees;
● EMTs;
● Florida Advocacy Council members;
● Inspectors of public lodging establishments;
● Long-term care ombudsman council members;
● Nursing home staff;
● Paramedics;
● Professional adult care, residential or institutional staff;
● State, county or municipal law enforcement officers or criminal justice employees.

However, most professionally mandatory reporters have to report both abuse against adults and children. These include:
● Chiropractors;
● Some hospital personnel;
● Health professionals;
● Institutional workers;
● Medical examiners;
● Mental health professionals;
● Nurses;
● Osteopaths;
● Physicians;
● Residential care workers;
● Spiritual healers;
● Social workers.

If you are a member of one of these groups, you are required by Florida law to report abuse to the proper authorities.
A professional mandatory reporter must call the Department of Children and Familie’s Abuse Hotline when he or she suspects abuse or neglect. He or she is also required to leave his or her name, in addition to the other information required of people who suspect abuse. This information is kept confidential, but is entered into the record of the report. Florida rape and abuse is taken very seriously.
If you have been accused of sexual abuse by a professionally mandatory reporter, you may call a Florida rape attorney, who will be able to take stock of your case. It is important to note that professionally mandatory reporters only report the suspicion of sexual abuse: quite often, there are legitimate other explanations for abuse that a Florida rape attorney may be able to dissect. These people must err on the side of caution in reporting anything that might be abuse, which is a valuable service to everyone.